Nancy, All of my immigrant ancestors landed and stayed in some section of NYC, usually Manhattan. When interviewing them, all of them said they were from"New York," but in our family context they meant New York City, any borough. The family Bible states that my earliest Irish were married in "New York," and again meant the City of New York. Any census records of my family, since 1832 arrivals, when place of birth is included, show "New York," and "NY." When you live in the metro area, it is orally understood that the term "THE city" refers to New York City. When my grandparents lived in Queens and traveled to Manhattan, they used the same phrase. So, without adding confusion to your research, when I research for others, unless they specify NYC, I begin searching New York State. If you find census records in any part of NYC, and birth info is included as "New York," I would begin searching in NYC. My explanation focuses on language. You have to consider the term New York in terms of context...of the family history. Barb N of NYC nancycurran@prodigy.net writes: > If the identification of New York as place of birth on federal census > enumerations means New York city, what is written for the other half of New York > state-born folks who were born north of Yonkers? > I've always assumed that in federal census listings, New York meant the > state. That said, there's a 50-50 chance it would be New York city, given the > distribution of population within the state. It would be frustrating indeed to > spend all one's research time on New York city when the person was born in, > say, Schenectady, although both would be listed the same, as New York, > meaning the state. > For more specific information, check the NYS censuses for the years ending > in 5, which do state the county of birth, if in New York state, and the state > or country of birth if outside the state. > > Nancy Johnsen Curran ************** Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014)

I think this is a sort of cultural perception; when I grew up in Old Greenwioh, Conn, if you were going to NY it always meant NYC. I was hardly aware, as a child, that there was more than NYC in that state. I would like to see more of NY but am on the other side of the country now, and need to get there to do more research. Prices are going up, unfortunately. If anyone knows of a person who has a room to rent, cheaply- let me know. Sue -----Original Message----- From: nynewyor-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:nynewyor-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of MizScarlettNY@aol.com Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 12:36 PM To: nynewyor@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [NYNEWYOR] city or state? Nancy, All of my immigrant ancestors landed and stayed in some section of NYC, usually Manhattan. When interviewing them, all of them said they were from"New York," but in our family context they meant New York City, any borough. The family Bible states that my earliest Irish were married in "New York," and again meant the City of New York. Any census records of my family, since 1832 arrivals, when place of birth is included, show "New York," and "NY." When you live in the metro area, it is orally understood that the term "THE city" refers to New York City. When my grandparents lived in Queens and traveled to Manhattan, they used the same phrase. So, without adding confusion to your research, when I research for others, unless they specify NYC, I begin searching New York State. If you find census records in any part of NYC, and birth info is included as "New York," I would begin searching in NYC. My explanation focuses on language. You have to consider the term New York in terms of context...of the family history. Barb N of NYC nancycurran@prodigy.net writes: > If the identification of New York as place of birth on federal census > enumerations means New York city, what is written for the other half of New York > state-born folks who were born north of Yonkers? > I've always assumed that in federal census listings, New York meant the > state. That said, there's a 50-50 chance it would be New York city, given the > distribution of population within the state. It would be frustrating indeed to > spend all one's research time on New York city when the person was born in, > say, Schenectady, although both would be listed the same, as New York, > meaning the state. > For more specific information, check the NYS censuses for the years ending > in 5, which do state the county of birth, if in New York state, and the state > or country of birth if outside the state. > > Nancy Johnsen Curran ************** Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com. (http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014) ************************************* Jim Garrity, List Administrator jimgarrity@earthlink.net ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYNEWYOR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message